Below is the index for the entire blog. You can locate specific blogs by using different keywords. This journey, starting from “The Box of Uncertainties” to the end of Unit 4, is centered around exploring body-related topics. I hope this index aids in your easy navigation of my blog. Additionally, I have included a logic map of the project’s development at the end for your convenience.
Action: Building on previous interventions about women, I created a booklet titled “Stellar Traveler: Seven Days Journeying with the Body.” Inspired by Lawrence M. Krauss’s quote about stardust, it reflects on the objective nature of our bodies. Incorporating Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s theory of phenomenology, the booklet focuses on a seven-day journey, encouraging participants to record and perceive their bodily experiences. Each day explores different aspects like body-environment interaction, uniqueness, sensing, self-acceptance, emotional connections, social media impact, and envisioning the future self. This format aims to inspire daily exploration and gradual acceptance of one’s body. Feedback came from one new participant and three who had previously joined interventions, especially M BB, who had engaged from the start.
Findings: The feedback was invaluable, confirming the effectiveness of this intervention for women. The new participant appreciated the seven-day length, establishing a habit of self-dialogue and self-affirmation. It helped her rediscover long-ignored aspects of her body and psyche. Another participant realized she often overlooked her body’s signals. The booklet also shifted perceptions about the “ideal body” on social media, highlighting the importance of observing and feeling one’s body changes. Thus, constant recording and reflecting can lead to conscious acceptance of one’s body, shifting focus from external to internal.
Reflection: While participants found the intervention meaningful, its reach was limited. They had pre-exposure to body image concepts through Xiaohongshu notes, suggesting the booklet might be challenging for those completely new to body image concepts. Future considerations involve balancing content integration and participant engagement without demanding excessive offline time. Social media will continue to play a role in promoting positive body image concepts.
Participant XIN：
Reference： Lawrence Maxwell Krauss (2012). A Universe from Nothing : Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing. New York: Free Press. Merleau-Ponty, M. and Landes, D.A. (2012). Phenomenology of Perception. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge.
Action: In the final phase, building on the results of previous discussions with men, I designed a booklet centered around dialogues. It compiles stories narrated by women about their body image, gathered from interviews and other forms of communication, along with my own stories, into dialogue-based narratives. This booklet not only delves into the complex and significant topic of female body image but also facilitates profound male-female dialogues. Through the interactions of characters Starlight (symbolizing women) and Comet (symbolizing men), it explores body image, self-acceptance, and societal-cultural influences. Starlight’s candid sharing reveals the pressures and struggles women face regarding body image in modern society. In contrast, Comet’s blank response sections provide an opportunity for male readers to engage in this dialogue, fostering understanding and respect. I distributed this booklet to three men: one who had previously participated in online seminars, one who had never engaged in any intervention, and a social science expert who had been interviewed earlier, now participating as a subject.
Findings: The feedback from men was somewhat surprising. They were astonished by women’s perceptions and genuine thoughts about body image, indicating a clear communication gap between the sexes. Such dialogues helped men begin to understand women’s perspectives on body image and modify their expectations, acknowledging the existence of biases and the male gaze. To me, this dialogue slightly challenged the ‘male gaze’, shifting men’s long-standing expectations of female body image. Therefore, enhancing male-female interactions can lead to greater understanding, respect, and acceptance of women with diverse body images. The feedback from the man who had participated in two online discussions showed that through seminars and the booklet, he began to understand that women should not face so much criticism and judgment about their bodies. During the seminar on the topic of ‘being overweight’, learning more about the backgrounds of female bloggers in the cases, along with their photos and videos, he sensed a slight shift in attitudes towards female body image. However, the other two men also expressed that they had rarely or never discussed this topic with women before. Through such dialogues, they realized that male biases and gazes indeed harm women.
Reflection: Each participant felt that as men, they seldom have the opportunity to express or listen to women’s views on body image without reservations. The booklet provided them a casual platform for this dialogue, prompting them to start thinking about the issue. However, they also believed that for some men lacking empathy, this format might not be effective in making them realize the seriousness of these issues. Compared to the intense discussions in seminars, the booklet, though lighter in form, was perceived as less profound or lacking strong opinions. This honest feedback made me realize that each intervention method has its pros and cons, affecting individuals differently based on their personalities. Reflecting on this, I also want to eliminate biases against men, acknowledging that not every man holds the same level of expectations regarding female bodies. In the future, I plan to organize more diverse activities to encourage positive dialogues on this topic among both sexes. These could range from male-only participation to introducing female participants, to better encourage the elimination of biases. Workshops incorporating arts like painting, film, and music could also be organized to facilitate discussions on the topic. In conclusion, such dialogues are important, positive, and necessary.
Reference：
Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen, 16(3), pp.6–18.
Berger, J. (1972). Ways of Seeing. Edmonton, Alta.: The Schools.
Need for more secondary research support: The tutor pointed out that although I have an abundance of references, they have not been fully utilized to academically support my arguments.
Explore the Research Onion: The tutor noted my deductive research approach and encouraged a deeper exploration of the target audience and the description of male influence.
Strengthen the argumentation: Citing evidence from secondary research would make my arguments more compelling.
Reflection:
Regarding references, I admit I have not organized them timely due to their complexity. However, my project has always been underpinned by substantial academic theory. My approach involves thorough research and deep analysis of academic theories before applying them to the project, which facilitates the development and exploration of new knowledge. I plan to organize the overall academic theories, which will be reflected in my report.
The Role and Importance of Lingerie:
Concrete Concepts: My mentor believes that lingerie can materialize the project’s complex ideas and serve as a focal point for discussion.
Privacy and Empowerment: Lingerie is intimate yet can be a statement of empowerment through design or discourse.
Reflection:
This past week was confusing, and I conducted related research. I understand the idea of concluding the project with lingerie, especially given the theoretical framework I’ve encountered so far. After a week of research, synthesis, and summarization, I reorganized my thoughts on the project and decided against integrating lingerie at this stage.
Next, I’ll perform a detailed analysis:
Starting from an individual perspective. Currently, from the female intervention tests, I’ve found results pertaining to women’s self-acceptance. Through phenomenological theories, women are encouraged to experience their bodies interacting with the world. Participants, when closely examining their own bodies, become more aware that their bodies are not just physical entities but subjects capable of sensation, thought, and interaction with their environment, and they begin to acknowledge and accept their own bodies. This, I believe, is the essence of addressing the research question. For women in Chinese society, the initial issue to tackle is learning to accept their body image. While lingerie can serve as a medium, or academically speaking, as fashion prosthesis, before presenting oneself, one must learn self-acceptance. Moreover, while lingerie can indeed empower women, I believe the discussion around lingerie belongs to the next phase following this project.
Cultural limitations, social expectations, and various policies make incorporating lingerie into the project challenging. For example, when I posted about the Crazy Horse show on social media, it led to cyberbullying. I’ve never shared experiences like naked ride on Chinese social media; these actions shock Chinese society’s women who struggle to accept them. In China, going out without underwear is still not recognized as appropriate, considered by many as highly indecent. During my research, I read about a Chinese woman’s five-year struggle with wearing underwear, who eventually gave up her bodily freedom for her job environment, choosing to wear uncomfortable lingerie. Surprisingly, she viewed her inability to choose not to wear underwear as a betrayal of feminism. In my opinion, her real issue was not fully accepting herself, leading her to waver between bodily freedom and social expectations, ultimately guided by societal norms to feel like a traitor to feminist ideas. Such stories highlight that discussions about bodily freedom in China are still at a fundamental level. That’s why I aim for more gentle, safe, and private interventions for women, targeting individuals as much as possible. I have some ideas about introducing lingerie, but they’re too bold for Chinese society and the internet, posing safety risks for me and the participants. It’s like trying to skip to level three in a game without completing level one. So, addressing women’s self-acceptance of their body image is the key to challenging Chinese cultural and social expectations of the female body. Only by shifting this point can we move effectively to the next stage.
In summary, during this week of contemplation and reflection, I’ve come to envision presenting two booklets: one for women, focusing on body exploration experiences, resembling the interventions to allow for safer and more private conversations about their bodies; and one for men, presented in a dialogic format. As the author, I will use text and images to help men understand that communication about female body image can be barrier-free and foster positive discussions. I believe this would be the best interpretation and conclusion for my project.
In our recent 7-day intervention project on female body image, we engaged 6 participants in a multimedia observation and recording exercise to explore how women perceive and evaluate their bodies. This article aims to summarize and reflect on the intervention process, feedback, and potential insights.
Participant Feedback Overview and Analysis
We received 5 complete pieces of feedback which revealed several key points:
Environmental Impact: Feedback indicated that participants’ body images were universally affected by their surroundings, leading to either positive or negative interactions. External factors from society, culture, or specific groups were shaping their perceptions of their own bodies. Reflecting on Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, the body is our primary mode of interacting with the world. As participants documented their bodily sensations, they were perceiving and understanding themselves and their environment through their bodies. By closely observing their bodies, they became more aware that the body is not just a physical entity but a subject capable of perception, thought, and interaction with the environment.
Detailed Observation: During the 7-day diary, participants observed their bodies meticulously, noting every detail which led them to a deeper realization of their body’s uniqueness. Merleau-Ponty’s concept of ‘pre-reflective bodily existence’ highlights that the body is fundamentally connected to the world even before any reflective thought occurs. Throughout the intervention, participants’ bodies influenced their self-image and acceptance even before deep reflection, becoming aware and accepting of their bodies, an embodiment of pre-reflective bodily existence.
Awakening of Self-Acceptance: The intervention also brought about a positive change. Over time, many participants began to recognize their close relationship with their bodies and started to learn self-acceptance. Participants expressed their body perceptions through language, which aligns with Merleau-Ponty’s view of the body and language as co-generative. Their feedback, conveyed through words about their bodily observations and feelings, also shaped their cognition of their bodies.
Reflections
The reflection on this intervention mainly includes two points: 1) the number of participants and the quantity of their feedback, and 2) the perspective on women’s self-acceptance.
Firstly, in this intervention, I invited 7 participants, of which 6 agreed to participate, and 5 provided proactive feedback within the set time. Particularly, two participants showed great interest in the activity. Compared to the male online seminar, the enthusiasm of female participants was significantly lower. Women are generally not very willing to publicly discuss body topics, and as this was an offline event taking up their time, the 7-day logging format could be seen as bothersome, even though they understood the intent. This wasn’t as engaging for them, especially if they weren’t very interested in the topic of body image. This suggests that for interventions, the flexibility of offline activities is not enough, which also confirms that today’s Generation Z relies more on the internet. This has made me realize the importance of utilizing social media. From a longer-term perspective, my project is very suitable for long-term penetration through social media. The concept of body image is not widely popular in China, and due to cultural and social reasons, it is relatively difficult to advance this topic. (I will discuss specific cases in another blog post.)
Secondly, in my project, the interventions for women are more private and safer. I hope to offer women interventions that feel more secure because when talking about the body, women often think of getting hurt, like malicious comments from outsiders. A safer intervention allows them to interact with me more relaxedly. Self-acceptance is also a relatively private topic. According to the results, I found that women pay very detailed attention to their body image, focusing on details such as fingernails, skin texture, and even how the amount of food they eat affects their weight. This result is important to me as it proves the level of anxiety women have about their body image. I also have some personal experiences; I used to care a lot about whether my nails looked good and would continuously get manicures. However, now I cannot continue this due to some reasons, which initially caused me anxiety. Over time, as I observed my nails daily, I gradually began to accept them and feel they are beautiful even without nail polish. This shows that women’s self-perception of body image is very detailed. From the 7-day log, I can clearly see that some participants are completing a journey of conversation with their bodies by answering the questions I set and through the 7-day logging. I am happy to see such results and hope more women can have this experience. This also means that, according to Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception, I have gained a deeper understanding of the subjective experience of women in the body image intervention process. Therefore, in the remaining time, I plan to design a 7-day body journey booklet for women, also in an electronic version, to allow more women to experience this dialogue with the body and to provide a rich experience for women to understand the body, body image, and the role of the body in culture and society.
In summary, the intervention on female body image provided valuable insights into how women perceive, evaluate, and accept their bodies. It also highlighted the need to tailor future interactions to better suit Gen Z women. One participant’s feedback suggested focusing on specific body parts could yield more effective observations, underscoring the detailed nature of women’s self-scrutiny. Moving forward, this suggestion will be incorporated, recognizing the importance of holistic self-observation. Despite the work ahead, this initial effort points to a promising direction.
Lastly, among the participants’ contributions, one documented a 7-day diet, offering an interesting perspective on body image concerns through food. The other two participants preferred not to have their photos shared on the blog.
Reference： Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of Perception. Routledge & K. Paul.
